Shooting From the Hip with @schneidz: Tattoos and ‘Tending Tandems

[Every week, Clayton Imoo sits down and talks hockey with a CHB follower and fellow fan. If you’re interested in being featured in “Shooting from the Hip”, send us a tweet at @canuckshockey or @CanuckClay.]

I met Chris at a Canucks tweetup earlier this season. Since then, we’ve been fast Twitter friends. After all, with his passion for both the Canucks AND music, we have two important things in common. Then, I saw a tweet from Chris to Arielle (last week’s Shooting From the Hip guest) congratulating her on being featured. Right away, I knew I had my next guest. Enjoy!

In his own words:

Chris Schneider (@schneidz) was born in Vancouver, but was raised mainly in a small Alberta town halfway between Calgary & Edmonton. Needless to say, he stuck out like a sore thumb for being a vocal and enthusiastic Canucks fan. But the adversity he faced because of where his hockey loyalties lied, helped make him the diehard fan he is today. His two best friends growing up were naturally Flames & Oilers fans respectively, so this made for a perfect B.F.F. triangle of hatred, they would always keep each other in check. After graduating high school in 2006, Chris did a year of college in Lethbridge to only realize halfway through that first year of the program he was studying, it was not really for him. He dropped out, packed his bags and headed west to his hometown to study his other major passion in life – music! After graduating from the ‘Film & Music Business’ program at Pacific Audio Visual Institute in 2009, Chris has worked with various artists in the live music scene ranging from local indie bands to major Canadian rock band ‘The Trews’. He aspires to eventually become a full time Tour Manager for his career, but since he does not make enough to pay all his bills doing that yet, he works a day job in the warehouse at Visions Electronics in Burnaby.

1. I’m guessing that your Twitter handle is a variation of your last name. Is there any other back story to it? Old nickname? More cool with the “z”? Like Boyz II Men?

Yes, that is correct. while Cory and I do share the same last name, we are not at all related, nor am I heir to the Schneiders meat company fortune. Although, I do wish I could take claim to both. I was given the nickname ‘Schneidz’ while competing on various sports teams in Jr. High, and it just kind of stuck. Since Cory has started playing for the Canucks, some people have asked me why I have a ‘z’ on the end and not a ‘s’ like he does. I don’t really have an answer for that, I don’t think I consciously made a decision of one over the other, it’s just has always been written down with a ‘z’ by everyone I grew up with.

2. Of your many claims to fame is the Johnny Canuck tattoo. Where is it, when did you get it, and what was the inspiration? If you were forced to get a current Canucks player’s name tattooed on your body, who would you get?

Ahh yes, Johnny! He is placed on my inner-left forearm. I got the tattoo back during Christmas of 2009. My buddy Adam, who at the time was interning under a tattoo artist, randomly texted me on the 20th of December asking “hey bud, you want to get matching Canucks tattoos for Christmas?”. HOW COULD I SAY NO!?! So what normally would have cost easily over $500, was given to me for free! I felt bad because there was no way I could afford a Christmas gift of equal value for him, but he said that my fandom and a gift of whatever I could afford was enough for him! (what a great friend, right?)

Hmm, a current Canuck player as a tattoo? I personally would never get a player tattoo (and very hesitant to even get a jersey of one [I have my own name and number (10) on my jersey] ) because players come and go, it is the team that remains constant. But if I were being held at gun-point, I would choose either Kesler or Bieksa as I think they both best embody what to me makes up a Canuck. The Heart, the dedication, the perseverance, their personality and so on.

3. Your last name notwithstanding, I need to ask you about the goaltending situation for the Canucks. Do you agree with Mike Gillis’ assertion that it’s not a controversy, rather an opportunity and benefit to have two strong goalies? What do you anticipate happening in the playoffs with respect to the goaltending?

I actually 100% agree with Gillis on this. Two amazing goaltenders is an amazing blessing to have. If one goes down, you have another great goalie to replace him with. The kind that can still inspire and will the team to win, which is a great thing to have in your arsenal during the playoffs. I think Gillis and AV will probably rotate them a bit, but we also have kept Luongo fresh for a reason. So that way he is sharp (getting pulled in the Anaheim Ducks game aside) throughout the playoffs. If you consider this an actual problem, then I think it is a great problem to have.

4. Straight up: is this Canucks team better than last year’s? Do you think they have what it takes to win one more game than last year?

A good 85% of the team is the same from last season, they will be hungrier this year, knowing how much it took to get to the finals. And Gillis, as he has done the entire time he has been the GM, addresses our weaknesses and figures out solutions. As offensively talented as Hodgson is, We needed more Torres-like physicality to help turn up the physical side of our game, and that is what Gillis sees in the budding power forward, Zack Kassian. He brings a mean game, and has pretty good offensive upside. Mix him in with Bitz and likely call up Steve Reinprecht. We have that much better depth than last year. I think when everyone is healthy again, we will be a force to be reckoned with! I think, no…I BELIEVE we will have what it takes to get that coveted win #16!!

5. Why should people follow you on Twitter? What can new followers expect?

Well, as I say in my Twitter bio, “I tweet about what I love, my team, the Vancouver Canucks, Music I am into, Concerts I go to, and random stuff I find on the internet!” that is a pretty good summarization of what I talk about, plus I am always game for meeting new friends, I’ve been having pretty successful nights at doing that at tweet-ups like @YVRBeerTweetup, and of course #CanucksTweetup. Followers should expect to laugh/be inspired/think at the YouTube videos I post, I hope people like and enjoy when I take pictures at the random events I go to (concerts, nights out, tweet-ups etc.) or share music that I have been really digging lately. Last but most definitely not least, me speaking my mind about whatever is going on in the Canucks universe, or the NHL/hockey in general. I am pretty opinionated, and sometimes lack a filter, but hopefully people can respect that that can happen when you are a loyal, dedicated diehard fan.

Like this:

Clay Imoo is a Canucks season ticket member and creator of Canucks parody songs. He is a co-host of the C4 podcast and writer of Things That Make You Go Hmmm and CHB's Top 10. More importantly, he is a husband and father.

You may also like...

6 Responses

Living in #yeg, it’s tough sometimes showing your team pride! I had a Manager at Future shop (jokingly of course) tell me to get out of his store because I walked in wearing my Canucks hat and hoodie! Fans should rejoice that we have two amazing goalies, alot of teams don’t even have one! I for one am proud to be a Canuck fan!

Being a Canucks fan in Alberta certainly is not easy! I’ve been kicked out of many a high school/college party simply ’cause I was a ‘Nucks fan. I’ve unintentionally (and more importantly, unprovoked) caused a guy to come to a complete stop while in traffic to flip me not just 1, but 2 middle fingers! All because I was sporting a Canucks hat and jersey in downtown Calgary. lol. It is moments like those, outside the context of a game, that truly build up your resilience and character, that make you a diehard fan. If you jump off the bandwagon just cause the boys played a really shitty game. You don’t deserve to call yourself a real fan in my books.

ABOUT CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Canucks Hockey Blog is a blog containing podcasts, opinions and commentary on the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL.
First established by J.J. Guerrero in 2005, CHB features regular contributions from Christopher Golden, Matt Lee, Clay Imoo, Elizabeth Moffat, Jocelyn Aspa, Victoria Pattison-Denault and various other contributors.